Following an extensive two-year flight test programme, Airbus has successfully concluded its Autonomous Taxi, Take-Off and Landing (ATTOL) project.

Advanced computer vision and machine learning—from sensors to cameras—are rapidly enabling major advances in the development of autonomous technologies in aircraft. In the years to come, autonomy could help the aviation industry to mitigate pilot shortages and safely meet the growing demand in commercial air travel.

Airbus has successfully performed the first fully automatic vision-based take-off using an Airbus Family test aircraft at Toulouse-Blagnac airport. The test crew comprising of two pilots, two flight test engineers and a test flight engineer took off initially at around 10:15 am on 18 December and conducted a total of 8 take-offs over a period of four and a half hours.